Effects of auditory novels and task load on auditory and visual brain responses in children and adults
-
1
Institut für Psychologie I, Universität Leipzig , Germany
Several studies revealed that unpredictable novel sounds elicit the novelty complex of the event-related brain potential (ERP) consisting of a mismatch response, P3a, and RON. Moreover, novels may also result in impaired performance in a primary task not related to the novels. These distraction effects were previously reported in adults and also in children. Few studies investigated the effects of cognitive load on the processing of novels. However, results are less consistent than those related to the novelty effects per se. The present study aimed at investigating effects of auditory novels and cognitive load in a visual task on auditory and on visual ERPs in children and adults. Novel sounds were interspersed in a sequence of a constant environmental sound, while subjects were engaged in a visual task not related to novelty. Subjects (children aged 9-10 years, adults aged 18-30) had to decide whether a visual stimulus occurred at a predefined position (0-back = low load) or whether the stimulus of the current trial occurred at the same position than the stimulus two trials before (2-back = high load). As to be expected, novels elicited the characteristic transient novelty complex in the auditory ERPs. High load resulted in a reduced negativity of auditory ERPs which was independent of novel processing and age initially. However, at around 500 ms, an interaction age-group times stimulus type (novel vs. standard) times task-load was obtained being due to a larger difference between novels and standards in the high-load condition relative to the low-load condition in adults. Interestingly, the visual ERPs revealed a reduced P3b in novel relative to standard trials. This shows that novelty effects are even present in the processing of the visual target. In conclusion our results support recent research about the similarity of the novelty system in children and adults, however, indicating less developed top-down control mechanisms in children.
Conference:
MMN 09
Fifth Conference on Mismatch Negativity (MMN) and its Clinical and Scientific Applications, Budapest, Hungary, 4 Apr - 7 Apr, 2009.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Poster Presentations
Citation:
Ruhnau
P,
Wetzel
N,
Widmann
A and
Schroger
E
(2009). Effects of auditory novels and task load on auditory and visual brain responses in children and adults.
Conference Abstract:
MMN 09
Fifth Conference on Mismatch Negativity (MMN) and its Clinical and Scientific Applications.
doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.09.2009.05.132
Copyright:
The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers.
They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters.
The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated.
Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed.
For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions.
Received:
26 Mar 2009;
Published Online:
26 Mar 2009.
*
Correspondence:
Philipp Ruhnau, Institut für Psychologie I, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany, ruhnau@uni-leipzig.de